/about — chapter one
The recipe is
Midwest dairy,
California sun,
& a lot of patience.
A short history of one shop, one neighborhood, and the obsession that built them.
Words by Jeff Henderson · 2024
Section
The shop
Reading time
4 minutes
Igrew up in Wisconsin, where the dairy is so good it ruins you for everywhere else. When I moved to San Jose in the late nineties, the ice cream was fine. Just fine. I couldn't live with fine.
In 2002 I leased a strange little building on Lincoln Avenue — a drive-through that used to develop one-hour photos. Three windows, no parking, and a permanent line of cars angling for the curb. Friends thought I was insane. I bought a single freezer case, two churners, and a dairy delivery contract from a creamery outside Madison.
The first weekend, three people came in. The next weekend, twenty. By the end of that first summer there was a line down the block on a Tuesday afternoon. 24 summers later, Willow Glen still shows up — rain or shine.
“We don't make ice cream for crowds. We make it for the kid coming back next Saturday with their parents.”
/timeline
24 summers.
2002
The drive-through becomes a creamery
Jeff converts a former photo drive-through at Lincoln & Willow into Willow Glen Creamery.
2007
Wisconsin custard arrives
Direct shipments from Waukesha bring real Midwest frozen custard to Silicon Valley.
2014
First 'Best of Silicon Valley'
Recognition begins to roll in. Lines spill onto Lincoln Ave.
2018
Dole Whip launch
Twelve fruit flavors, dairy-free, the same recipe as the parks. Instant fan favorite.
2024
22 years, still scooping
Year after year, named among the South Bay's favorite scoop shops.
/sourcing
What goes in.
Every base in our case is named here. We don't reveal it because we have to — we reveal it because we're proud of where it comes from.
Partner
Mariannes
Santa Clara, CA
Local super-premium
Partner
Chocolate Shoppe
Madison, WI
Wisconsin classic
Partner
Dannon
White Plains, NY
Yogurt base · live cultures
Partner
Treat
Fairfield, OH
Limited edition flavors
/press
In good company.
San Jose Mercury · 2023
“Best ice cream in the South Bay, year after year.”
Eater SF · 2022
“Worth the drive from anywhere in the Bay.”
Bon Appétit · 2021
“An old-school scoop shop done with new-school precision.”